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December 3, 2024

The ‘Fentanyl Election’ Is Over. Now What?

Was 2024 the “fentanyl election”? A recent article in The New Yorker by Benjamin Wallace-Wells suggests that the effect of the drug crisis on certain communities made their residents more likely to…

September 9, 2024

The Nanny State Is Not the Answer to Parents’ Challenges

The chaos of summer is over. Kids have gone back to school. But fall brings a whole new set of challenges. We parents have spent the past few weeks creating complex…

March 4, 2024

Teen Suicide and the Limits of Sociology

“No one, it appears, was free to just parent as they wanted to parent—free of the web of social ties that both gave their lives meaning and set firm constraints…

August 14, 2023

What ‘Earth Mama’ Doesn’t Tell Us About Foster Care

There are plenty of movies that start in the middle of the story. But typically the director will eventually go back and tell you what happened at the beginning. This…

August 13, 2023

‘The Death of Public School’ Review: Find a Place to Learn

What is a public school? Is it an institution that is paid for by the public? One staffed by government employees? One that teaches a publicly approved curriculum? One that…

August 3, 2023

Philanthropists Discover the Value of “Sunsetting”

This year, the William E. Simon Foundation is closing its doors, or “sunsetting,” in the parlance of modern philanthropy. Since it was founded in 1967 by former Treasury Secretary William…

August 1, 2023

Can AI Make People Want to Have Children?

Self-help gurus love to tell people to visualize their goals. Tony Robbins says, “Starting your day without visualizing your goal is like starting your day without breakfast.” In this space,…

July 25, 2023

What Relationship Outsourcing Says About Our Culture

How many of our relationships can we outsource? Apparently, there’s no end. A recent article in The New York Times describes a new kind of professional, a “surrogate partner,” who…

May 1, 2023

Closing Young Minds

Roger Brooks describes himself as a “loyal supporter” of Durham Academy. A member of the class of 1980, he has donated money every year to support the 1,200-student North Carolina…